During a medical intubation procedure, a tube is inserted into an orifice or hollow organ such as the larynx to allow for the administration of gases or to admit air. Unfortunately, the procedure sometimes goes amiss, and the tube is inserted into the wrong orifice (e.g., leading to the digestive rather than the respiratory tract).
Although illuminated laryngoscopes are available (see, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 3,986,854 to Scrivo et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,527 to Musicant et al., U.S. Des. Pat. No. 297,363 to Salerno et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,855 to Salerno et al.), the scope of illumination is somewhat inherently limited by the length of the laryngoscope blade. The prior art also discloses an fiberoptic intubating laryngoscope incorporating a "goose neck" stylet. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,031 to Rossoff).
It would be an improvement in the art if a device were available for safely illuminating and viewing an intubation procedure, especially in the lower part of the pharynx, and if the device could be easily sterilized by autoclaving. Additionally, it would be a further improvement if such a device had a means for attaching stylets of varying lengths, depending on the application requirements, to an easily grasped handle.